Confirmation of the talks, however, sparked outrage in Germany, where opposition politicians threatened to derail the plans by voting against a key amendment to the bail-out fund this Thursday.
The head of Germany’s constitutional court also piled on the pressure by warning the government not to circumvent the law “by the back door”.

Despite the wrangling in Germany, markets across Europe staggered back to life on hopes that the crisis could be contained and the recovery restored.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 rose 0.4pc to 5,089.37 after £78bn was wiped off shares last week. In France, the CAC 40 rose 1.75pc, and Germany’s DAX recovered almost 4pc.

Policymakers in Europe are working on a three-pronged plan to ringfence the euro crisis around Greece.